I'm glad you found the information helpful. Certainly, singing is an important, even commanded, component of our worship to God:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)
If one questions that
Colossians 3:16 is truly a command, it might be helpful to compare the language of the same context that contains other accepted commands (
Colossians 3:1-2, 5-9, 12-15, 17-23).
As a side note, I think God often plays the "reverse numbers" game. On occasion, He hopes we will give diligent attention to His Word, being open-minded and tenderhearted, so that we can turn on even the smallest detail. For example, consider how Jesus and Paul used the Scriptures:
The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying: "Teacher, Moses said ..." Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. ... But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. (Matthew 22:29-33)
Notice how Jesus based His entire point on the
tense of a
single word! God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - present tense (
"I am"), not past tense! Somewhere, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still existed, and He still was their God! This implies life beyond the grave, which in conjunction with God's care (being their God), necessarily implies a resurrection! Jesus concluded all of this, and proved His point on the tense of one verb in a verse that did not primarily relate to the resurrection! Amazing!
Now, observe Paul:
Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. ... What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; (Galatians 3:16-19)
Did you catch that Paul based his reasoning on the
plurality of a
single word? Paul uses the singular object of God's promise to show that the "gospel" was planned before Abraham, because it was even proclaimed to Abraham (
Galatians 3:8). The good news was that Jesus, the Seed, would be the means of fulfilling the Old Law and blessing the nations. The Israelites themselves were the not the goal of the promise. One Israelite, Jesus, was the end and fulfillment of the law (
"till the Seed should come", see also
Romans 10:4). Paul proved the foreseen conclusion of the Old Law and the opening of the kingdom to the Gentiles. Using these points, Paul was able to dismiss the Judaistic teaching regarding the continuation of the Old Law - all based on the plurality of a single word!
The New Testament is full of many references to Old Testament Scripture. By observing their example, we can learn how God expects us to use Scripture, and we can come to a better appreciation of God's Word and increased respect for God Himself.
For the humble, God only has to speak
one time. The lesson is that we must be very diligent and humble when approaching Scripture (
II Timothy 2:15). This requires that we examine our hearts and rid ourselves of prejudice; otherwise, we may find what
we want to see in Scripture instead of what God said (
II Thessalonians 2:9-12). ... Often God repeats a point for emphasis - no doubt. However, on occasion He tests the sincerity of our loyalty to Him by His silence, outside of a single word...
I pray you find this helpful,
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